9/21 update

Mom had a good day today. The biggest news we have is that she finally got her NG tube taken out! The NG tube was further irritating her sore throat (originally caused by intubation), and being free of it has made talking and swallowing easier for her. Unfortunately she can't really swallow much of anything. The only thing she can have is ice chips. It'll probably be another couple of days before she can even try clear liquids.

She's had trouble with her oxygenation because breathing deeply is so painful for her, but she came off oxygen (again) this morning and is still off as of 11:30pm tonight!

By 11 o'clock this morning, Mom had already walked up and down the hall twice, and she walked again tonight. She spent most of the day in her new recliner. She usually has a hard time getting comfortable in the bed and ended up sleeping (if you could call it that) in a chair last night, so today her day nurse found her a recliner to try. We hope she'll be able to get more sleep tonight!

No fever for the last 24 hours. :-)

Still no news on the lymph nodes.  

We're all doing pretty well, thanks to a wonderful support system of friends and family. It's been crazy trying to have someone here at the hospital with Mom all the time and someone at home with the kids after school and trying to squeeze in a meal every once in a while and keep things at home running smoothly. I don't know how we'd manage without so many friends stepping in to help. We love you all. 

I'm going to try to get a few hours of sleep before the med students and residents start filing in at 5am!